Cars no more a symbol of freedom for young

Millennials – people aged between 18 and 34 – are less likely to drive than people their age a decade ago, and a third have chosen not to fork out for a car.

Some 67 per cent of millennials who participated in Roy Morgan Research’s 2016 car industry survey are driving, down from 72.5 per cent of the same age group in 2006.

Almost one in five milliennials have the Uber app on their phone or tablet, and two thirds of those had used the service in the past month.

Of the 200,000 Australians who use car sharing services like Go-Get and Flexi-car, almost half are millennials, compared with only 20,000 baby boomers.

Consumer services innovator Scott Browning, the chief executive of mobile startup Quickar and former marketing director at JB Hi-Fi, says fewer people will own and drive a car in the future, because there won’t be a need.

Attitudes towards cars have changed, with technology and the internet changing the way people connect with family, friends and work, he said.

“Connection and mobility have very little to do with cars anymore,” Mr Browning said.

“Cars are just appliances, they’re not the symbol of freedom that we had because that was the only way we could get out of the house as kids.”

WHAT AUSTRALIANS THINK ABOUT CARS

– A smaller proportion of young people are driving than a decade ago

– Almost two thirds of Australians would pay more for a zero-emissions car

– More than half of millennials would consider buying a hybrid car and nearly one third would buy an electric car

– Just over half of Australians are not ready for travelling in a driverless car

– Almost two thirds are unaware of car sharing services, and almost 200,000 are using services like Go-Get and Flexi-car

– Over one in three are ready to dispense with dealerships and buy their car online

Source: The State of the Nation Report with a spotlight on the Australian Automotive Industry by Roy Morgan Research

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